Fall-flowering bulbs

A snowdrop in November..who would have thought!

bonitin, thanks, perhaps I will move it to a bit dryer shade area, but I will wait until late summer to dig them up. May be I have them a tad too deep? Patti

Yes I have regina olgae and it has been in flower for the last 3 weeks or so. A lovely early bloom. I'll hunt out a photo.

This is my Galanthus reginae olgae and this was taken on 8 November.

A better view of the plant but not a great picture.

The mini Cyclamen are beautiful bonitin, the supermarket I shop at here as well as garden centres have a good assortment but they usually don't thrive after the first year or die of rot because of the medium they are grown in. I have grown some from seed I got from them but inside it's not suitable, and outside or in a greenhouse too cold. I decided to stick with outdoor species.

Patti, C. coum doesn't like to be too deep, mine are just below the surface in very free draining, gritty soil and leaf mould under a Horse Chestnut tree in a built up bed. They took a few years to really get going but are now thriving.

Amazing that a Galanthus is flowering now, is this the usual time or does it respond to periods of winter cold as we have had recently with a warm spell following? My Pieris japonica Forest Flame is full of flower buds now!

Okay, what could be more cute than that pic of yours, Galanthophile.

I too, am wondering about the bloom cycle of G. reginae-olgae. Since you said: A lovely early bloom.

I had the same experience with the ones I bought last year wallaby! Most of them had rotted away like you say, but I still have a couple alive and one of them is preparing to bloom..
This year I'm going to put them in a more protected place, in my garden shed, when the real winter sets in, I discovered that they don't mind so much the cold but the excess of water unavoidable over here. Sure the medium they're growing in must also play its role, I've planted mine in Cocos-compost I buy from a natural food supermarket. The ones that survived got frozen for a short time last winter but survived.

Very cute indeed your 'late' or 'early' Galanthus Galanthophile!

Here is a picture of today of another unnamed Cycamen that didn't came out ideal because of the dreadful dull weather over here, it's so dark even during the day that I had to use the flash!

Wow, that snowdrop is wonderful! Never seen that species for sale in Canada.

Bonitin, I know about dull weather...we have the same problem here...need lights on in the middle of the day!

I think this galanthus regina olgae is normally classed as the earliest flowering snowdrop but it is a forerunner of the main season which I am already looking forward to :)

So I am still reading back issues of the NARGS bulletin at lunch hours now and then at work. Wouldn't ya know it, today I had the fall 2003 one, and it had an index in it for the year's publications. So I looked for G. reginae-olgae. There it was, listed as page 100.

Now that I am home, I found page 100 in the spring edition, and the article, written by Hitch Lyman, owner of Temple Nursery, in Trumansberg, New York (USA). He lists around 16 species that he grows. He has read very extensively on the genus and it would seem clear to me that he could have given more indepth comments on the species he grows, but he chose only to reply rather briefly on how they do in his climate. This is what he says about reginae-olgae:

"Galanthus reginae-olgae, which flowers before its leaves emerge in autumn, is not happy here. Snow destroys the winter foliage. I have one under a cloche which persists, without enthusiasm. The spring-flowering subspecies G. reginae-olgae subsp. vernalis is thriving, oddly enough."

Those winter growing species of any kind, they must really be all screwed up when we try to grow them in the north. My poor Gladiolus permeabilis(in a pot that I will not overwinter outside), it resprouted this fall, and the long needle like leaves seem unscathed after 25F temps. But what will become of it?
Likewise, Lycoris radiata just won't go dormant, and the ones I have in the ground emerged this fall again too!

Lefty, has L.radiata over wintered in the ground for you? If so, how long have you had them?

I have the Lycoris in a pot overwintered inside and it started sprouting over a month ago. The leaves are still pretty short...guess because the basement window is only 50 F.

Most fall-blooming bulbs that produce leaves in the fall do poorly here..Acis autumnalis and Crocus goulimyi are an example. I have to overwinter them indoors. They sometimes survive in a coldframe but only sure-fire way is to bring them inside. I guess 4-5 months of being snow-covered is not what these types of fall blomers want.

My Galanthus reginae-olgae is growing outdoors in zone 5a with no protection (other than fallen leaves). It showed up in a batch of G. elwesii bulbs. I keep expecting it to disappear some winter (and maybe it will), but I've had it four years now, and it gets bigger every year, though hasn't multiplied yet.
don

Someone had give me about 30 small bulbs of L. radiata in spring 2007. Since I had so many, I plunked them in in several places, and a pot that I overwintered inside. Some came up that season, some did not, but some did came up in every area I planted.

The following spring (2008), I was very surprised to see them return in every sopt I had planted them. Whether these were the same bulbs that grew in 2007, or the other bulbs that remained underground in 2007, I don't know. For all I know about that, the ones that remained underground may have rotted. As they emerged from the soil in 2008, the width of the leaves were normal, and I expected them to continue to grow normally, but they stopped, for the most part at 6-8 inches, and only two or three leaves per bulb. Compare that with the four to eight leaves per bulb at 12-14 inches long in the potted bunch.

So I'd say they survived one zone 4 winter, but barely. They are still in the ground now, so we'll see if they go another round.
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Regarding the Galanthus, I remember Hitch Lyman commenting on more than one species that in his experience, that species spreads only be seed and not multiplying bulbs.

South African small bulb plant "Polyxena ensifolia " is blooming.
It looks like a mini bouque.

I am really enjoying reading this thread, but it is taking longer and longer to load. Any chance of starting a new one on the same topic, Todd? I would do it myself, but it seemed presumptuous.

Another new bulb genus....wonderful! I'd start a new thread but really, how much longer will we have fall bulbs? Goldenfish is our last holdout as the rest of us are heading into winter.

wow! Goldenfish - that's gorgeous & certainly new to me.

Okay, you are probably right.

Crocus laevigatus "Fontenayi'

Perhaps the first winter bloomer rather than a fall bloomer. This selection is supposed to bloom reliably for Christmas. Found originally in open, stony places in Greece.

It is very small, only about 2-3 in tall, but the purple feathering on the outer petals is very showy.

Chris

Spring already whoooo hoooo!!!!

What a beauty that little crocus is. I guess it almost is a spring crocus because it blooms on Christmas -- after the winter solstice. I am going to have to have that one -- if it will survive in my zone.

That will be so great paj if its hardy for you. It will be blooming for solistice. Did you check out the reblooming iris that are happening in the south right now? Is that awesome or what (says mitten-clad dahlianut whose heading into -30 weather)

No, I better check them out. I have been hanging out on the Iris for winter boredom thread where everyone is posting their iris pictures. That helps the winter misery quite a bit, but some crocus will help to.
I have now planted 100 crocus and 8 foxtail lilies and some leucojum and meleagris. Some winter blooming crocus would be perfect, but they would have a hard time poking up through the snow.
Yes, we now have snow and frozen soil. It will be a while before I dig again. Sigh.

A break from the pic axe is probably a good thing wonderwoman ^_^. Reblooming iris I saw are on the SW Forum.

Yes, my shoulder is starting to heal after all the whacking of rock. It is probably a good thing to have this little ( I wish) winter break!

What a charming crocus.....no more bulbs here until at least next April!

I've been checking out the Australian gardening site for pics of their spring/summer photos.

It is a lovely little crocus!

I have another Habranthus martinezii in flower, starting to get old now but the temps in the greenhouse have been down to -5C with many nights below zero, it doesn't get sun until late then the sun goes down! Days have been cold too, outside mostly around 3-4C give or take. OK, not quite the temps some of you get!

I took this on the third.

Love that!